Twenty-six dead in fresh Afghan violence

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060621/ts_afp/afghanistanattacks_060621072748;_ylt=AgvlSFG6GZIeS_hJzY5iuQ6s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b2NibDltBHNlYwM3MTY-

Twenty-six dead in fresh Afghan violence

52 minutes ago

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Afghan forces say they have killed 20 Taliban in southern Afghanistan, where British forces say they have encountered more rebels than expected, while six people died in another attack in the east.


Afghan and coalition forces attacked a Taliban hideout in Helmand province's Musa Qala district on a tip-off on Tuesday evening and set off three hours of fighting, General Rahmatullah Raufi, commander of the army's southern corps, told AFP.

"Twenty Taliban were killed in the operation. Their bodies with their weapons were left at the site," Raufi said. An Afghan army soldier was also wounded.

About 3,300 British are deploying to Helmand to help Afghan forces build security and work on reconstruction.

A senior commander told embedded reporters there Tuesday that there were greater numbers of Taliban rebels putting up a fight in the province than expected.

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1. "the military had underestimated the strength of the hardline ...Taliban"

Looks like the Brits have the same problem as we do.


.....British troops are however still more than a match for the militants as seen in clashes earlier this month, the commander told reporters at a British base in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province.

The British commander, speaking late Tuesday on condition of anonymity, said the military had underestimated the strength of the hardline Islamic Taliban when it drew up plans to deploy in the restive southern region 16 months ago.

"I suppose the most significant difference has been the extent to which the Taliban have had some successes this year and are probably in slightly greater numbers then we might have expected after the excellent work done by our American predecessors," the commander said.

Quizzed on what he meant by the larger presence, the commander said he was talking about hundreds not thousands of rebels.

The Taliban have claimed to have 12,000 fighters in southern Afghanistan alone but an army officer has said the number was more like 5,000 Taliban fighters in the whole country.

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3. war like this will not get rid of the taliban.

europe and america living up to their commitments regarding afghanistan's economy and building the infrastructure will.